I am starting to come around and see the appeal of macadamia nuts. I’ll be honest, until recently, I didn’t really understand fuss about these highly-valued and rather expensive nuts. The macadamias that I’d tasted in my life really weren’t anything to write home about. Admittedly, they were of the somewhat stale, chocolate covered variety brought home by friends and family after trips to Hawaii. But I thought that was all there was to them. Although I never turn down a chocolate covered anything, they really didn’t seem to warrant the hefty price tag. So I never sought them out on my own. But as a diabetic, I work with nuts and nut flours in all capacities and for a twist one day, I decided to give the lofty macadamia another try. I got some beautiful fresh raw ones, and made some delicious, tropical-flavoured muffins (Macadamia Coconut Lime Muffins). I can’t say I was immediately hooked after that, but I did gain a measure of respect for the rich flavour of macadamia nuts.
But I had plenty left in the bag and they were expensive enough that I didn’t want them to go to waste. So they weighed on my mind for a while. I had numerous ideas, but the one that really stuck with me was the idea of macadamia nut tart shells. Ground nuts of all kinds make really great low carb, gluten free tart crusts, and I knew macadamias would be no exception. I thought they might even be better, with their high oil content. A lot of recipes I see that include macadamias leave them raw, but I wanted to toast them to bring out the intensity of their rich flavour. I couldn’t help myself, pairing them again with their tropical compatriot, coconut. They just seem made for each other. As for a filling, I had a few ideas and one of them was lime curd. But that would have been too much like the muffins I’d made earlier. In the end, I opted for a filling that gave a nod to all the chocolate covered macadamia nuts I’ve eaten when friends have returned home from Hawaii!
The Results: Mmm, mmm, yummy. I think I hardly even need to say this. How can you go wrong with macadamias, coconut and chocolate? I will say, I started off with a little too much butter in the crust. The macs themselves are so oily, I didn’t need it. When they were baking, I could see pools of oil at the bottom of each tart crust. It reabsorbed after I took them out of the oven, but I have reduced the butter in the recipe by half. Indeed, it might not need any at all, but I want to be certain that the crust will hold together. The chocolate filling was wonderfully creamy and the perfect complement to the rich, tropical flavour of the macadamia and coconut crust.
Chocolate Macadamia Coconut Tarts
Tart Shells:
2 cups macadamia nuts, lightly toasted
1 cup finely shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/4 granulated erythritol
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
20 drops stevia extract
Chocolate Filling:
6 tbsp butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp powdered erythritol
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
20 drops stevia extract
Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 24 mini-muffin or mini-tart pan.
In a food processor, grind macadamia nuts until they resemble coarse crumbs. Do not overgrind or you will end up with macadamia nut butter.
In a large bowl, whisk together ground macadamia nuts, shredded coconut, erythritol, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in beaten egg, melted butter, vanilla and stevia extracts until dough begins to come together.
Divide dough between prepared muffin tins and press into bottom and sides of each. Bake 14 minutes, or until tart shells are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool in pan 10 to 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife, gently loosen tart shells from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the filling, melt butter, chocolate, powdered erythritol and cocoa powder together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla and stevia extracts. Spoon chocolate into prepared tart shells and let set, about 1 hour.
Serves 24. Each tart has a total of 4 g of carbs and 2.2 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 1.8 g.
I am Carolyn, a writer, runner, mother and diabetic. I am also the evil mastermind behind this blog. I live for food. Join me in my experiments in creating delicious low carb, gluten free recipes. 
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I've never been a fan of macadamia nuts either…but this recipe has me converting
These tarts look great and I love how dark the chocolate filling seems to be.
I love macadamias and I just bought a big bag of them. All I need to do is roast them and put all the other ingredients in and I'll have some of these tarts too! They look wonderful!
I don't want to believe these are good for you – it goes against all my principles to enjoy a healthy dessert
Filled with Macadamias and chocolate and best of all, coconut, you have given me a one way ticket to perfect waistline heaven – love it
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Chocolate Chunk Truffles + Surprise Chocolate Cookies
These look amazing! Love macadamia nuts!
How perfect these look!!!
I LOVE coconut and paired with chocolate…oh my goodness. They look fabulous, Carolyn. Hope you have a relaxing weekend. xxx
Didn't like macadamia nuts? I can't even imagine that one. It's worse than someone not liking chocolate!
I adore them (without chocolate) and would love to fill your tart shells with something else. 
You just can't help making me swoon, can you? I love macadamia in all forms so this is definitely going in the 'to be made when you've manned up and are ready to start baking' pile of recipes
Crust made with macadamia nuts!! wow…that's a stunner!
I like macadamia nuts but my dad is the true fan. It is an annual stocking stuffer at Christmas time. Adding coconut and chocolate though definitely up the ante. These look delicious. I would probably pop 5 down at once.
Oh my gosh, these are incredible. You knocked this tart recipe out of the park. I am totally trying this one out.
I bought some macadamia nuts just before Christmas planning on making some macadamia cookies but here I'm, two months later with the macadamia nuts still in the freezer.
These mini- tarts sound great! Love the coconut pairing.
Yummmm these look really good!
Those are adorable. Love the ingredients too.
Wow… all day I dream about this dish! Definitely on my to do list!
Beautiful combo of flavors. I would love some of these coconut-macadamia confections!
You had me at Chocolate and Coconut and adorable little tarts make perfect little bites! Macadamia nuts are very rich, but they remind me of Hawaii – as I said in my tweet "nuff said"
These look completely delicious! Can't wait to try the crust with so many different fillings too! Good job!
I think I may die if I don't make these very, very soon. I can practically taste them.
Ooooh, you may have created my nemesis!
i can never, ever resist coconut and rich chocolate. What a glorious treat!
Will someone please tell me what "erythritol" is? I can alter the recipe for the gum and the stevia to use regular ingredients but I have never used erythritol… thanks as this sounds like a great recipe and would like to try it.
I love macadamia nuts! And chocolate and coconut! These little tarts look so yummy!
I've never really cookies with Macadamia nuts either, I think its just because I grew up never eating them? These little tarts look irresistible though! Great flavor combo these sounds soooo good!
Fantastic trio of flavors! Look adorable & delicious.
xo http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
These look so good but does anyone know how to make a REGULAR version of these?! ya know without the erythritol….
Just substitute sugar for erythritol. It should work just fine.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Erythritol is a sugar substitute. It is derived from fruits and fermented foods. But you can substitute sugar in it's place if you want.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Yes please! These look fantastic!
The tarts look amazing.
Looks like you took those chocolate covered macadamia's to a whole new delicious level!
these little tarts look soo good!
I have a bag of macadamia nuts in my pantry and have been curious as to what to do with them. I'm recently a lover of coconut so these little tarts sound perfect. (I've only ever had these nuts in cookies, so I am curious to see what the fuss is all about myself)
Can I sub regular flour for the gum? I'm not gluten free and it's hard to get stuff like this around where I live. And for the erythriol, can I sub regular sugar one for one?
Yes, definitely sub in sugar for the erythritol. And a bit of flour for the gum would probably work.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
how many calories does each one of these have? They look wonderful!
I just made these tonight and OMG! These are heavenly and perfect for the adult palate. I didn't have any erythritol so I substituted Xylitol instead. And of course since I didn't have mini muffin tins, I used the regular sized ones I have which produced 10 tarts. I guess I'm going shopping tomorrow
Glad you liked them! I need to make some more of these…
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
I'm sorry, I don't calculate calories. But you could easily enter the information into software that does, to get the totals.
Thanks,
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Uh-Mazing!! These sound heavenly!! I'm wondering if the crust could be used in a springform/pie pan??… I would LOVE to use it as a crust for a coconut cheesecake… would be soooo good and blow away ANY traditional graham cracker/wafer crust!! Also, same question as a few others… what can I sub for erythritol and xantham?? Thanks!!
Yes, I think you could put it into a springform pan for a cheesecake crust, although you may need to make more of it.
For the erythritol, put in sugar. Skip the xanthan altogether, especially if just the base of a cheesecake. The cheesecake filling should help it hold together just fine.
Good idea, I might have to make a low carb version!
I have made many batches of these, and they are amazing! My latest version used pecans instead of macadamia nuts, and they were also great. Working on my low carb Thanksgiving menu. Do you think you could used a little pumpkin filling instead of the chocolate? and, if so, would you bake them first, or all together?
Ooooh, pecans with pumpkin filling! Great idea. Bake them together but watch the crust carefully, I think.